MILITARY OBJECTIVES OF THE CZAR AND REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA DURING THE GREAT WAR (1914-1916/1917)

Languages of publication

CS

Abstracts

EN

Russia entered World War I with a very ambitious programme of further territorial and great-power expansion. It urged annexation of Germany and breaking Austria-Hungary against its main rivals. To the north-west of Saint Petersburg, Russia planned unification of the original Polish state into a unified territory and include the restored Poland into the czarist empire. In the west, it wished to acquire Galicia and Bukovina. In the south-west, Russia intended to finally enforce its influence over the Balkans through unification of the South Slavs under a Serbian leadership. In the east, Russia demanded control of the straits of Bosporus and Dardanelle, annexation of Istanbul with a free passage to the Black and Mediterranean Sea and a commanding authority over north Persia. In the Far East, it wanted to acquire north Manchuria and get control over the entire north China. As an ideological tool, Russia used the principles of pan-Slavism in order to become a 'leader' of the Slavic world, to protect the Orthodox Christians and liberate the 'oppressed' nations from foreign domination. The Russian plans were of course in sharp contrast with intentions of its military adversaries, but also with great-power intentions of Russia's treaty partners Great Britain and France. As a result of military exhaustion and internal revolution, Russia finally had to abandon its great power ambitions and fight for a mere survival. The following Bolshevik coup d'etat in November 1917 definitely disabled Russia from the war. The successive foreign policy and power ambitions ensued from radical Socialist principles of the Bolshevik party and the Soviet government.